A lottery is a game in which people buy tickets with numbers. When the winning numbers are drawn, they win a prize. The casting of lots for determining fates and distribution of property has a long record in human history (including several instances in the Bible). Modern lotteries take many forms, including financial—where participants pay a small amount of money for the chance of winning a large sum of money—and non-financial, such as the selection of jurors for a trial.
Lotteries are popular with the public. They enjoy broad support even when state government’s fiscal health is good, and are able to maintain or expand their revenue streams by relying on two messages primarily:
The first is that the money raised by lotteries benefits a specific public need such as education. The second is that the proceeds are a minor drop in the bucket of overall state revenue, and therefore the public should feel no guilt about buying a ticket, regardless of whether they win or lose.
Gamblers, including lottery players, often believe that money can solve their problems and make their lives better. But the Bible warns against covetousness and tells us that “there is no such thing as a rich person” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). The fact is that wealth brings with it many new problems and can sometimes make people worse off, even when they have a substantial income. This is especially true of big jackpot winners, who are often ruined by the taxes and expenses involved in their new lifestyles.
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